Sing along with Amazon as UK Prime Music gets Prime Stations and lyrics
Just in time to stick it to Apple's iTunes Radio price hike
It only took 10 months to cross the Atlantic, but Amazon Prime Music in the UK has finally caught up with the US.
Amazon added Prime Stations to the UK service today, letting Prime Music users get their jive on with ad-free playlists built around particular artists and genres.
It’ll save you the hassle of creating a queue yourself, or clicking through multiple individual recommendations. Giving each track a thumbs up or thumbs down will improve and personalise Amazon’s algorithm over time.
You’ll be able to sing along with any new tracks, too. Kindle, Fire TV, iOS and Android devices all support X-Ray Lyrics, which streams lyrics onscreen as you listen.
Prime Stations is mostly focused on mainstream pop and indie artists right now – think Florence + The Machine, Bruno Mars and Jessie J. Film scores, Blues Rock and Vocal Jazz playlists mixes things up a bit, but hopefully Amazon is working on expanding Prime Stations out to more genres soon.
It’s a welcome addition to Prime Music, but is something rivals like Spotify have had for what feels like forever. There’s no clue why it took so long to arrive in the UK, either.
That being said, Apple just killed off the free version of iTunes Radio, forcing iOS users to pay US$9.99 for Apple Music to keep listening. Maybe Amazon can fill the gap – assuming you’re already paying for Prime for on-demand TV or free one-day shipping.
Prime Stations are available now through Amazon’s Music app on iOS, Android and Kindle Fire tablets, and on Macs and PCs through the web player.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
